http://www.timescrest.com/culture/catch-em-young-4977
- CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Catch 'em young
You've probably met schoolboys like Moin -trying to duck the teacher's gaze during a Std IV science quiz, playing noisy cricket in the building compound or sniffing dolefully in a doctor's waiting room. Which is perhaps why it's such fun bumping into him on the pages of a book as well?
For Indian children are much more accustomed to meeting blue-eyed George or blonde Betty in the realm of fiction, to catching trains from Paddington Station and eating treacle tarts for tea. But Moin and the Monster introduces young Mumbaikars and Mangloreans to children like themselves, and yanks them into a recognisable but crazy world of longhaired music teachers called Tothogotho Chowdhury and medu-vada-gobbling souls like principal K K Kuttykrishnan, banana biryani and limey-lemony deworming medicines. Not to mention a disgruntled, pink monster with autorickshaw horns, a screechy voice and a penchant for Bollywood beauties.
By the end of this refreshing romp by Anushka Ravishankar, readers have, of course, learnt Monster Rule 17: "A monster can be sent to the human world. " But they have also cottoned on to Publishing Rule 11: "Indian writing for children has finally come of age. "
This is obvious the moment you pop into a bookstore. For holding their own amidst stacks of Famous Fives, Harry Potters and Rainbow Magic books are a bunch of feisty, familiar protagonists. There's hungry little Golgappu who learns to make icecream with his daadi and pizza with his mother in a popular series by Tarla Dalal. There are the three tough Taranauts - Zarpa, Tufan and Zvala - who help the denizens of another universe called Mithya in a series by Roopa Pai. Then there are books with names like Sahyadri Adventure and The Fundoo Four and an array of characters - the spoilt and picky prince of Bondapalli;smily Lobsang who dreams about being reunited with her parents and lost homeland of Tibet;and a dubious maharishi who helps distraught young men find their moustaches.
But what has spawned this motley crew of monsters and maharishis? Why are publishers lavishing attention and investment on this hitherto neglected genre? Are many bookwallas jumping onto the babalog bandwagon?
The answer to the last question is an unequivocal 'yes'. The lists of established children's publishers like Scholastic and Puffin have seen a definite growth-spurt in the last three years. "We started with about 10 books a year, " says Sudeshna Shome Ghosh of Puffin, which has been in India since 2001. "But for the last three to four years we have kept the number of new titles at about 30. " Similarly Tulika has started serving up much more than reheated folktales. It now offers original and thought-provoking books like the Looking for Art series. These sumptuously illustrated books tell amusing stories while introducing readers to artists like Ravi Varma and Jamini Roy. In Barefoot Husain, for example, little Jai and the barefoot artist take off on a frenetic journey, zooming in and out of paintings, in an attempt to find the artist's lost shoes.
Meanwhile, new publishers have also entered the fray. The neophyte Fun OK Please has introduced a quintessentially Indian protagonist called Toto the Auto. While international giant Disney has roped in established writers, as well as newcomers, to bring out a series called Untold Tales from the Jungle Book. The five titles are set in the jungles of India "where bears dance and monkeys sing". In Mowgli's Quest, for example, the little boy sets out to discover the secret of fire with a little cryptic help from the mystical owl Ooloo.
Disney has also introduced a graphiccomic hero called Vanayu, who battles villains in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. And like its square-jawed, swordfighting protagonist, the company clearly means business. While publishers are busy drawing up business plans, startled writers are equally busy fielding persistent suitors. "I have seven publishers actually lining up for my books, " says Paro Anand, who recalls that the scenario was very different a couple of decades ago. "I remember literally walking down the street with my manuscript in my hand looking for a publisher. It was impossibly difficult. "
Indeed, till very recently, children's books were at the bottom of the publishing heap - and often stuck with tatty paper, amateurish illustrations and indifferent marketing. Most manuscripts that made the grade were uninspired versions of mythology and moralistic tales about our glorious parampara. The new wave of children's books is, however, bolder and slicker. Publishers are dabbling with everything from interactive game books to contemporary issues. For example, Anand points out that just a few years ago her moving book, No Guns at My Son's Funeral, about a young Kashmiri boy who gets sucked into terrorism, could never have found a publisher.
Tina Narang of Scholastic points out that their recent successes include books like Samit Basu's Terror on the Titanic and Meenakshi Madhavan Reddy's Confessions of a Listmaniac. And, of course, Siddhartha Sarma's brilliant The Grasshopper's Run that tells the story of Gojen, a Naga youngster determined to avenge the murder of his friend, during WW II.
The outcome is an interesting spread - from the fictionalised dairy of the Rajput Princess Jodh Bai to a teen-lit novel about turning 16. And even if these books have not achieved Nancy Drew or Artemis Fowl status, they are doing well. "There is demand from people who want their children to read more about India, " says Shamim Padamsee, author of A Silly Story of Bondapalli and the brain behind the Young India Books website, which carries reviews of about 100 Indian books for children.
The result seems to be happy for all involved. "It's important for children to read books set in their world. It's important to see themselves as exciting individuals with adventurous lives, " says Paro Anand, adding that the trend benefits the writers as well.
For Indian children are much more accustomed to meeting blue-eyed George or blonde Betty in the realm of fiction, to catching trains from Paddington Station and eating treacle tarts for tea. But Moin and the Monster introduces young Mumbaikars and Mangloreans to children like themselves, and yanks them into a recognisable but crazy world of longhaired music teachers called Tothogotho Chowdhury and medu-vada-gobbling souls like principal K K Kuttykrishnan, banana biryani and limey-lemony deworming medicines. Not to mention a disgruntled, pink monster with autorickshaw horns, a screechy voice and a penchant for Bollywood beauties.
By the end of this refreshing romp by Anushka Ravishankar, readers have, of course, learnt Monster Rule 17: "A monster can be sent to the human world. " But they have also cottoned on to Publishing Rule 11: "Indian writing for children has finally come of age. "
This is obvious the moment you pop into a bookstore. For holding their own amidst stacks of Famous Fives, Harry Potters and Rainbow Magic books are a bunch of feisty, familiar protagonists. There's hungry little Golgappu who learns to make icecream with his daadi and pizza with his mother in a popular series by Tarla Dalal. There are the three tough Taranauts - Zarpa, Tufan and Zvala - who help the denizens of another universe called Mithya in a series by Roopa Pai. Then there are books with names like Sahyadri Adventure and The Fundoo Four and an array of characters - the spoilt and picky prince of Bondapalli;smily Lobsang who dreams about being reunited with her parents and lost homeland of Tibet;and a dubious maharishi who helps distraught young men find their moustaches.
But what has spawned this motley crew of monsters and maharishis? Why are publishers lavishing attention and investment on this hitherto neglected genre? Are many bookwallas jumping onto the babalog bandwagon?
The answer to the last question is an unequivocal 'yes'. The lists of established children's publishers like Scholastic and Puffin have seen a definite growth-spurt in the last three years. "We started with about 10 books a year, " says Sudeshna Shome Ghosh of Puffin, which has been in India since 2001. "But for the last three to four years we have kept the number of new titles at about 30. " Similarly Tulika has started serving up much more than reheated folktales. It now offers original and thought-provoking books like the Looking for Art series. These sumptuously illustrated books tell amusing stories while introducing readers to artists like Ravi Varma and Jamini Roy. In Barefoot Husain, for example, little Jai and the barefoot artist take off on a frenetic journey, zooming in and out of paintings, in an attempt to find the artist's lost shoes.
Meanwhile, new publishers have also entered the fray. The neophyte Fun OK Please has introduced a quintessentially Indian protagonist called Toto the Auto. While international giant Disney has roped in established writers, as well as newcomers, to bring out a series called Untold Tales from the Jungle Book. The five titles are set in the jungles of India "where bears dance and monkeys sing". In Mowgli's Quest, for example, the little boy sets out to discover the secret of fire with a little cryptic help from the mystical owl Ooloo.
Disney has also introduced a graphiccomic hero called Vanayu, who battles villains in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. And like its square-jawed, swordfighting protagonist, the company clearly means business. While publishers are busy drawing up business plans, startled writers are equally busy fielding persistent suitors. "I have seven publishers actually lining up for my books, " says Paro Anand, who recalls that the scenario was very different a couple of decades ago. "I remember literally walking down the street with my manuscript in my hand looking for a publisher. It was impossibly difficult. "
Indeed, till very recently, children's books were at the bottom of the publishing heap - and often stuck with tatty paper, amateurish illustrations and indifferent marketing. Most manuscripts that made the grade were uninspired versions of mythology and moralistic tales about our glorious parampara. The new wave of children's books is, however, bolder and slicker. Publishers are dabbling with everything from interactive game books to contemporary issues. For example, Anand points out that just a few years ago her moving book, No Guns at My Son's Funeral, about a young Kashmiri boy who gets sucked into terrorism, could never have found a publisher.
Tina Narang of Scholastic points out that their recent successes include books like Samit Basu's Terror on the Titanic and Meenakshi Madhavan Reddy's Confessions of a Listmaniac. And, of course, Siddhartha Sarma's brilliant The Grasshopper's Run that tells the story of Gojen, a Naga youngster determined to avenge the murder of his friend, during WW II.
The outcome is an interesting spread - from the fictionalised dairy of the Rajput Princess Jodh Bai to a teen-lit novel about turning 16. And even if these books have not achieved Nancy Drew or Artemis Fowl status, they are doing well. "There is demand from people who want their children to read more about India, " says Shamim Padamsee, author of A Silly Story of Bondapalli and the brain behind the Young India Books website, which carries reviews of about 100 Indian books for children.
The result seems to be happy for all involved. "It's important for children to read books set in their world. It's important to see themselves as exciting individuals with adventurous lives, " says Paro Anand, adding that the trend benefits the writers as well.
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